


Got to Be Joking

by Triscribe



Series: Ranger's Child [1]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, I have ALWAYS wanted to use that tag, Pritchard lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-30 02:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21420670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triscribe/pseuds/Triscribe
Summary: In which Pritchard survived the epilogue of The Tournament at Gorlan, and inadvertently gives Halt another option years later when infant Will’s fate needs to be decided.
Series: Ranger's Child [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1544224
Comments: 4
Kudos: 61





	Got to Be Joking

Pritchard stared at the man standing awkwardly on his doorstep, and most decidedly _not_ at the quietly burbling bundle held in his arms.

“You’ve got to be joking,” he finally stated.

Halt winced. “Wish I wasn’t.” The younger man’s eyes dropped to the babe he held, and it was impossible not to notice the slight glimmer of emotion in them - especially when the infant’s noises shifted to a distinctly happy coo when it noticed the attention.

Sighing, Pritchard stepped back, holding the door open as he did so. “Alright. Get in here and tell me the full story.”

-R-

By the time Halt had finished his tale, darkness had fallen, young Will had twice been fed, and an empty flagon of ale sat beside the men’s pair of cups on the table.

“So,” Pritchard said after a long silence. “You were hoping for, what, exactly?”

His former student flushed slightly. “I’m not entirely certain, really. I’d had an idea of taking him to Arald’s ward in Redmont-”

“Which is technically against the law,” Pritchard muttered under his breath, well aware that such a fact wouldn’t deter Halt in the slightest. The younger man continued on.

“-but I know he’ll ask questions as he gets older, and no one there would be able to answer them. That kind of uncertainty eats at a person, shapes them in ways they might not otherwise turn out.” Halt looked over at the bundle resting comfortably on the lone padded armchair of the house.

Pritchard snorted. “Be honest, Halt. You’ve gone and gotten attached in the single day you’ve been looking after that babe.”

“I made a promise-”

“And you’re going to cling to the idea that it’s your sense of honor keeping you from leaving the little one on another’s doorstep rather than keeping him close. But we both know that’s a bigger load of lies than Morgorath’s propaganda a few years back.” They each briefly darkened at the thought of the scheming former baron, and how his escape from Gorlan Castle had nearly resulted in Pritchard’s death. Then the elder man shook his head, returning to the subject at hand. “Do you want me to help you take care of him?”

The sudden light of hope in Halt’s eyes was all the answer he needed.

**Author's Note:**

> Gonna mark this one as finished, but expect future shenanigans to show up in a series later on...


End file.
